Liam Payne had consumed “too many drugs and alcohol” and was “trashing the entire room” of the Buenos Aires hotel where he was staying, according to a call made to emergency services moments before the former One Direction singer’s tragic death.
Two 911 recordings released late on Wednesday offer more details of the chaotic scene that unfolded before the 31-year-old British pop star fell from a third-floor balcony of the CasaSur Palermo hotel.
In the first call, a man named Esteban, who describes himself as the chief receptionist of the hotel, is heard telling a 911 dispatcher that one of their guests is “high on drugs” and “trashing the room,” adding “we need someone to come.”
El llamado al 911, antes de la muerte de Liam Payne: “Tenemos un huésped que está sobrepasado de droga y alcohol” | por José María Costa (@jmcos) https://t.co/0r84Lcvtup pic.twitter.com/CswJl31xTJ
— LA NACION (@LANACION) October 16, 2024
The line gets cut off as the dispatcher asks Esteban if the guest is being aggressive.
He then calls back and explains the situation again. “We’ve got a guest who has had too many drugs and alcohol and, well, when he is conscious he is trashing the entire room and we need you to send someone, please.”
Esteban appears to fear for Payne’s life, as he’s heard asking the dispatcher to send help “urgently.”
“I don’t know whether his life may be in danger — the guest’s life,” he says.
“He is in a room with a balcony and well, we’re a little afraid that he…” Esteban continues but is cut off by the dispatcher, who asks how long the guest has stayed at the hotel.
‘He’s been here for two or three days,” Esteban says, asking the dispatcher again to send somebody “urgently.”
The dispatcher then informs Esteban that both local authorities and the Emergency Medical Care System, or SAME, have been informed.
Así encontraron la habitación del hotel desde donde cayó Liam Payne, el excantante de One Direction https://t.co/n86SzPv8jN pic.twitter.com/05enYom8BE
— LA NACION (@LANACION) October 17, 2024
The calls were made around 5 p.m., local time, the Buenos Aires-based newspaper La Nación reported.
According to the publication, police later found aluminum foil, candles, a lighter and traces of a “white powder” substance in the room where Payne was staying.
Forensic analysis will determine if drugs may have been consumed in the room before his death.
The newspaper also published a photograph, said to be from the room, showing a smashed television screen next to what appears to be a bottle and a glass of champagne.
Payne, who has previously spoken publicly about struggles with substance abuse, said in a 2021 interview he was worried about “how far [his] rock bottom was going to be.”
As shocking news about the singer’s death emerged, fans of One Direction gathered outside the posh hotel for an impromptu vigil to honor the singer and celebrate his life.